DC-area homes selling at fastest pace in a decade

Listing service Bright MLS says a house or a condo that hit the market in July went under contract in an average of just 12 days, the fastest pace of sales for a July in a decade. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

The Washington-area housing market continues to suffer from a lack of sufficient listings to meet buyer demand, and what is on the market is getting snapped up fast.

WASHINGTON — The Washington-area housing market continues to suffer from a lack of sufficient listings to meet buyer demand, and what is on the market is getting snapped up fast.

Listing service Bright MLS says a house or a condo that hit the market in July went under contract in an average of just 12 days, the fastest pace of sales for a July in a decade.

Sellers also got, on average, 98.3 percent of their list price.

The number of active listings on the market in the Washington metro area in July was down 6.4 percent from a year ago, the 27th consecutive month of declines in year-over-year inventory levels.

But a few more sellers decided to test the waters last month, with new listings up 1.3 percent from a year ago.

The median selling price in the Washington market hit a record-high $471,000 in June, though the median price in July was $455,000. That was still the highest median selling price for a July in 10 years.

The July median selling price was 28.2 percent higher than the July 2009 low of $355,000.